Duel of The Outlaws
by Bleeding Wings
Summary: Leilong, a.k.a. Shimi of the Anten 7, hunts for the legendary warrior known as Vincent Valentine.  When they face off, will Shimi earn the reward money and claim victory?  Rated for gunplay and serious hand to hand combat!
1. The Challenge

**Disclaimer**  
  
Neither 'Outlaw Star' nor 'Final Fantasy VII' belong to me. I'm not sure who owns 'Outlaw Star,' but I do know that 'Final Fantasy VII' belongs to Squaresoft. I don't own either Leilong or Vincent Valentine, but I just have the urge to make these two gunslingers have a showdown! Enjoy!  
  
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**DUEL OF THE OUTLAWS  
  
**by Bleeding Wings  


  
  
Clyde was having another busy day at his Pub. Seeing almost every seat filled with beer-drinking outlaws, Clyde wiped another empty glass to get ready to serve the next customer. Irene was also having her hands full, serving dozens of outlaws with every drink on the menu. Like Clyde, Irene was getting a major headache from all the loud conversations every outlaw was sharing.   
  
Clyde felt a tremor from underneath his feet. As he looked around, he realized that his bottles were clanging into each other on the shelves. Some of his customers felt their drinks splashing a bit out of their mugs, and they tried their best to keep their drinks steady from the tremors.  
  
_What the hell's going on? Feels as though a dinosaur's heading our way. _Clyde thought._  
  
_As the tremors intensified, a man with a gigantic, iron backpack swung the doors open and walked right inside. He had a very short haircut and a well-trimmed mustache, and he appeared to be a year or two beyond his prime. The other outlaws had to move out of his way, not only because of his 350-pound backpack but also to show respect. They knew his reputation for blasting away anyone who got in his way, and none of them would dare point a gun at his face and challenge his prowess as an outlaw. The man placed his pack next to him on the floor and sat at the bar close enough to face Clyde, the bartender.  
  
"Hey, Clyde! How about something strong?" the man asked.  
  
"Leilong! Long time, no see! How long has it been since you came here?" Clyde asked, giving him a bottle of whiskey and a shotglass.  
  
"About 4 months. Been pretty busy, collectin' bounty from 12 outlaws and pirates. I thought I was gonna get a challenge, but who was I kiddin'? How's Gene Starwind and his friends doing?" Leilong asked, pouring down his first shot and gulping it down.  
  
"They're doing just fine, Leilong. I tried to give Gene a call, but for some reason, nobody could answer the phone. Something strange must be goin' on with those guys."  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it, Clyde. Whatever the dilemma is, I'm sure Gene and his friends will get out of it." After seconds of a pause, Clyde decided to change the subject.  
  
"So now you're gonna settle down? Maybe you should go to BlueHeaven and take a break for awhile. Find yourself a woman and have a good time. I can see in your eyes how exhausted you look."  
  
"You oughta get your eyes checked, Clyde. I still got some good years in me, man. I want to ask you a question," Leilong said, pouring his second shot.  
  
"Sure, Leilong. Let it out."  
  
"Have you seen this man?"  
  
Leilong took out a picture and showed it to Clyde. Clyde knew from the moment Leilong took out the photo that it was going to be a picture of his next bounty. When Clyde got a good look of who Leilong was after, Clyde turned extremely pale.  
  
The man in the picture was dressed in black, wearing a red cape with a red collar that almost covered his mouth. His hair was long and black with a red headband snugged right under it. The man's shirt and pants were black, and his shoes were red as well. He almost didn't seem to be the dangerous type, having a face almost no woman could resist. And his build was pretty fair, showing himself to be more well-defined than bulky. What was most distinguishing about him was his left golden gauntlet, which had razor-sharp claws. And his eyes were as cold as arctic ice.  
  
".... for G-d's sake, why do you want to hunt _him_ down?" Clyde whispered.  
  
"You know why, Clyde. It's not just for the 25,000,000 wongs! Maybe this time, I can finally get myself a challenge! I can see it in his eyes. There's no way I can turn down this opportunity, Clyde! The last outlaws and pirates I brought down were just a bunch of bags full of hot air! None of them could put up a good fight like Gene Starwind did! Well, maybe this pretty boy can do the same," Leilong answered. As Clyde looked around carefully, hoping nobody would hear them, Clyde slightly leaned over the bar so only Leilong could hear his whispers.  
  
"Leilong, if you value your life, just forget about that guy."  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE- What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Look, Leilong. This is Vincent Valentine we're talking about here! He's one ferocious son-of-a-_bitch_! Ever since Valentine came to Sentinel III, dozens of outlaws and pirates went after him, hearing from a broker how much his head's worth. God knows why he's here. I heard that almost every person who went after him never survived his wrath," Clyde said. That information made Leilong's eye twitch.  
  
"You're overestimating the bastard, Clyde. Damn, you make him sound even more lethal than the McDougal Brothers! That guy looks just around Gene's age, and he's perhaps even tougher. He seems to have great spirit, but he's probably just a kid who didn't get his feet wet enough in the world of outlaws," Leilong said, taking another shot of whiskey. Clyde began to sweat as he looked to his right. Quickly, he turned his attention back to Leilong.  
  
"Leilong, just forget about that guy. He's-"  
  
"I know what he is! He's a gold-mine! And he's gonna possibly give me the toughest battle in my entire life! VALENTINE'S GONNA DIE TODAY!!"  
  
As all the outlaws heard Leilong's words, everyone trembled. As some of them let out a yelp, every beer-chugging outlaw jumped right out of their seats and ran for the exit. Causing a commotion, none of them cared about whether or not the seats and tables got overturned, whether they dropped their mugs and let them shatter all over the floor, or whether they ran over each other to get out of there. All they cared about were their very lives. Now the bar was as empty as a school on a weekend. All this left Leilong dumbfounded.  
  
All that was left were Leilong, Clyde, Irene, and a man in the shadows.  
  
Irene felt her blood boil when almost everybody stampeded out of the pub.  
  
"Damn! Now I gotta clean up this stupid mess! They should at least have the courtesy of leaving me the tip!" Irene said. As she was about to march for the door that said "Employees Only", a man many seats away from Leilong pivoted his seat towards her and held up a handful of wongs for her. Irene was surprised about how much wongs he offered. Reluctantly, she took the wongs from the man whose eyes were hidden in the shadows.  
  
"Thank... thank you. Man, you sure give pretty huge tips," Irene said. The man got his face out of the shadows, letting Irene see his face. Irene felt her heart racing as she laid witness to the man's beauty. Never had she saw such an incredibly handsome man, before. The man smiled and nodded his head to her, letting her know that she's welcome. As she blushed, she reluctantly walked away to get ready to help clean up the mess. The only time she turned her eyes away from the man was when she finally got to the door.  
  
_What... a.... hunk! _She thought to herself._  
  
_When Irene was gone, the man pivoted his seat back to the bar to have another drink of milk. After finishing his glass and wiping his milk-mustache off, he slowly took out his silver handgun he named Quicksilver.   
  
"Hmph. What crawled up their asses?" Leilong asked. As Leilong filled up his glass for a third shot and was about to bring it to his mouth, a speeding bullet shattered the glass into dozens of pieces. Leilong was shocked not only about having his glass shot out of his hand, but also about somebody having the nerve to actually do that to him.  
  
As Leilong whipped his head to his left, he got a good look at who fired at him. The man turned out to be the one who was on the photo. His silver handgun pointed right at Leilong, smoke drifting out of the gun's muzzle. Holding as still as ice, the man's face was facing away from Leilong, looking only at the drinks on the shelves.  
  
"As I was saying, Leilong, he's here..." Clyde told him, trembling.  
  
Letting out a growl, Leilong got out of his chair, dropped his shattered glass, whipped out a pair of enormous armor-piercing cannons and pointed them right at his attacker.  
  
"You got a deathwish or something, ya piece of garbage?!" Leilong asked ferociously, gently caressing the triggers. Keeping his eyes away from Leilong, Vincent Valentine twirled his gun and quickly slipped it back into his holdster. He quietly got up from his seat and walked to the exit. As he got close to the exit and kept his eyes to the world outside, he opened his mouth and said:  
  
"You and me... 12 o'clock high at the Junkyard. You better pray there will be a more peaceful world beyond this one when I tear you apart..."  
  
Vincent's cold voice crawled right up Leilong's spine. To Leilong, that didn't sound like a young man. In fact, he almost didn't sound human. Leilong's breathing became heavier and he felt a sweat trail down his head. Shakily, he put his cannons back into his iron backpack as he watched Vincent calmly leave the bar. With shaky eyes, he stared at the exit where Vincent walked out, staring at the doors as they creaked from swinging back and forth. Leilong swallowed his anxiety and wore a smile.  
  
"You'd better be worth it, boy. I'm in a mood for a good fight. So don't you dare disappoint me..."  
  
  


... to be continued  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Time to Sharpen My Fangs...

The blazing sun shined over the heads of two powerful warriors standing 40 yards away from each other, staring into each other's eyes and wondering who would be the first to draw blood. One was a middle-aged outlaw whose skills and killer instinct have no equal. The other was a newcomer whose background was shrouded in mystery. Leilong changed into his traditional combat uniform, the same one he wore when he and Gene Starwind locked horns. Valentine remained the same, keeping on his favorite colors: red and black.  
  
The warriors felt a breeze pass by them, dust spiraling with the wind and getting blown through the space between the gunslingers. Neither warrior let their attention turn to the dust as they kept their eyes on each other, seeing who will make the first move. Leilong let his fingers wiggle, getting ready to draw one of his guns. Vincent remained motionless, folding his arms and letting his cape go with the flow of the wind.  
  
"I see you're not in a hurry to die, upstart. You got a lot of nerve to spoil a real good drink, Valentine. Do you really think you can make yourself a name around here by killing me? Sorry to disappoint you, but you ain't got no chance at all. Now you're gonna die like the worthless dog you are," Leilong said. Leilong wore a smirk on his face, thinking his words would make his opponent edgy.  
  
Valentine didn't move an inch, arms still folded.  
  
"I'm not here to make a name for myself, little man. I'm here for a very important reason, and you're in my way."  
  
"Oh? And what reason might that be, Valentine?"  
  
"That's none of your business! What you should worry about now is how many minutes you got left before you die. Believe me: most people who challenged me became food for the worms. And you're next on my dead pool..."  
  
Leilong tried to maintain his cool, but he felt something he never felt before in a fight. He felt nervous. Never has he felt nervous or edgy when he takes part in a gunfight. Here he was, facing a man who looks only about half his age and might only have a quarter of fighting experience, yet his hands trembled.  
  
_Man, for some reason, I really feel as though I'm in over my head. I... I can feel his aura... and it's very powerful. But how can that be? He... he's just a kid! _Leilong thought to himself._  
  
_Trying again to swallow down his anxiety, Leilong spoke:  
  
"All right, kid. Let's do this the old-fashioned way. Whoever draws the gun and hits the target is the winner. And the loser has to die..." Leilong motioned his hand to his large handgun holstered in his right thigh. Leilong relaxed his whole self, knowing that being loose is a major ingredient for winning gunfights. Standing tall, his right hand was one inch away from the gun, waiting for the right time. As his hand was ready to draw, he felt his pulse beating hard against his throat.  
  
Vincent still kept his arms folded and his heels together, letting the wind blow his cape towards his side.  
  
"... your move, Leilong..."  
  
Suddenly, Leilong's eyes widened.  
  
"DRAW!" With one quick motion, Leilong grabbed his gun out of his holster and squeezed the trigger. As soon as Valentine saw a spark fly out of Leilong's gun, Valentine moved with the speed of lightning. Still maintaining his posture, Vincent drew his own large handgun and fired at direction towards where Leilong fired. In a split second, a spark flared shortly between the two warriors. As the spark faded, the small object fell flat into the dirt. Leilong took a good look at what it was, and it made his palms sweat like crazy.  
  
The small pebble turned out to be Leilong's bullet, dented by Valentine's.  
  
"How... how can that be? You're suppose to be dead!" Leilong asked, startled by Valentine's defense.  
  
Not wasting anymore time, Vincent Valentine knelt to the ground and took out a pair of armor-tearing shotguns. As he got them ready for action in a blink of an eye, he eyed Leilong as as bird of prey would towards a rabbit.  
  
"LET'S DANCE!!" Valentine opened fire on Leilong, letting his gigantic shotguns boom to turn Leilong into a rotting carcass. Leilong jumped out of the firing range, barely dodging Valentine's attack. Leilong rolled for cover as Vincent continued to fire upon him. Keeping his back on the large shrapnel, Leilong quickly took out an 100-pound gatling gun. As he got out of the cover and aimed his enormous weapon at Valentine, Vincent's eyes widened.  
  
"Time to say good-bye, upstart!" Leilong squeezed the trigger and watched his gatling gun spin. Leilong fired hundreds of bullets per second, hoping to turn Vincent into swiss-cheese. With tremendous speed, Valetine sprinted away from Leilong's speeding bullets and jumped for cover. Leilong smiled as he saw Vincent at his mercy. Leilong walked out of his cover and continued to fire on Valentine, slowly turning Valentine's cover into steel sawdust.  
  
With nearly blinding speed, Vincent barrel-rolled out of his cover and threw a black object at Leilong. The metal object stuck to Leilong's gatling gun like a magnet and immediately glowed red. As the object began to blink red and make a beeping sound, Leilong knew what that meant.  
  
"SH*@!!" Leilong dropped the gatling gun and ran for his life. As he was 6 yards away from the gatling gun, the magnetic bomb ignited and cause a quake throughout much of the battlefield. The fiery explosion sent Leilong flying into the air and crashing into the dirt. Feeling the explosion shaking his head a bit, Leilong was on his hands and knees, trying his best to regain full consciousness. Leilong felt a sweat trail near his eye as he heard Valentine's footsteps heading towards him.  
  
Leilong saw Valentine loading two of his handguns, one silver and the other one black. Every step was getting louder as he was getting closer to Leilong.  
  
"I heard you use to be one of the Anten 7. What was it they called you? Shimi, right? Your defiance to your group only proved how weak you are, Leilong. I'm still strong because I never betrayed or abandoned my friends..." Valentine said.  
  
"... yeah, that's it... Just a little... closer..." As he heard Valentine getting closer, ready for the kill, Leilong slid 6 metallic objects right between his fingers of both hands. Seeing that Vincent was in the right range, Leilong leaped off his feet and landed to face Valentine once again.  
  
Leilong has six large stick-grenades between his fingers, holding them as though they were daggers! Leilong wore a greedy smile as he felt the fight was now in his favor. Leilong could tell that underneath his collar, Vincent's jaw dropped.  
  
"TRY THESE ON FOR SIZE, BOY!" Leaping away from Valentine, Leilong threw the six grenades like daggers, throwing them as though he was a circus performer. As Leilong ran for cover, Valentine leaped away from the incoming grenades. One grenade at a time exploded on impact with the ground. Valentine continued to leap away from the grenades, trying his best not to be consumed by the inferno.   
  
As Leilong heard the last grenade go off, he got up from the ground and took a look around. Leilong didn't see Vincent anywhere. Leilong began to smile to himself and let out a chuckle. Then his chuckle turned into pure laughter.  
  
"YES! I still got it in me. Not only did I beat a worthy guy, but now I'm 25,000,000 wongs ri-" Leilong's jaw felt Vincent's fist smash right into it. Vincent's punch was so powerful, Leilong felt himself leave the surface and skid down through the dirt. Trembling, Leilong barely got up and faced who he thought was dead. As he tried to stand up straight, Leilong fell back down on his bumper.  
  
With a slightly burned cape, Valentine breathed heavily and stared coldly at Leilong. His metal gauntlet made a fist.  
  
"You are pushing me to the limits!" As Valentine faced Leilong, he took out one of his favorite, huge handguns.  
  
"I want you to meet a good friend of mine. His name is Outsider, and he wants to pierce his bullet right through your skull. Time to say goodbye..." Valentine whispered.  
  
  


... to be continued.  
  
  
  



	3. The Dust Settles

As Leilong was on the ground and leaning on his elbow, he stared right down the barrel of Vincent's gun named Outsider. Leilong was amazed by how strong Valentine was, for Valentine appeared not to be the powerhouse type. Leilong moved his jaw around while holding it with his right hand.  
  
"I gotta admit, I really underestimated ya, kid. Man, you're even tougher than Gene and his friends were," Leilong said.  
  
"Gene? You mean Gene Starwind? I bumped into he and his friends yesterday, and like you, they were after the bounty on me. Out of the many outlaws and pirates, they're the only three who survived my bite. I doubt you'll be the fourth," Vincent Valentine said, finger on the trigger.  
  
"Well, all I gotta do is believe!" Leilong said. Leilong legsweeped Valentine and had him hit the dirt face-first. As Leilong spun himself back up, he kicked the gun away from Vincent's hand. As Vincent got up, Leilong attacked him with fists that moved at blurring speed. Leilong struck Valentine with combinations of body-blows to the ribs and jabs and hooks to the head. Almost every punch caused Vincent to take one step back.  
  
Feeling Leilong's fury, Vincent didn't block any of his attacks.  
  
Putting every inch of energy into himself, Leilong jumped into the air and delivered a spinning heel-kick to Vincent's skull. The powerful kick whipped Vincent's head back and launched him into the air. It looked as though Vincent was going down for the count, bringing a smile to Leilong's face. As Vincent looked like he was about to land on his back pretty hard, he shifted his weight forward and landed back on his feet. The force of the kick had Vincent's heels dig deep into the ground and creating two tracks in front of the red outlaw.  
  
With eyes hidden in the shadows, Valentine stood frozen for a few seconds with his legs slightly apart and fists to his side. Slowly, he stood upright and whipped his head back to get his long black hair out of his eyesight. What worried Leilong wasn't just Vincent's recovery but the smirk on his face.  
  
"Not bad, Shimi. Your speed was what I anticipated, and your strength should be well commended. Surely, you can do better than that," Vincent said, moving his jaw a little. Letting out a snarl, Leilong drew out his beautifully forged combat knife he used on Suzuka.  
  
Letting out a battle-cry, Leilong sprinted towards Valentine and was ready to end his bounty's life with only one blow. With blurring speed, Leilong swung his knife in an arched motion at Valentine's throat. With grace, Valentine bopped his head back from the knife and swiftly moved away from his attacker. Trying not to leave him any space, Leilong tried again to end Vincent's life with his blade. Every time Leilong goes on the offensive with his combat knife, Valentine moves away from his attacks as though he was a ghost. His graceful footwork was so well, it almost looked as though his feet didn't touch the ground when dodging Leilong's attack.  
  
Breathing a bit hard, Leilong stood ready with his knife in front of him and pointed it right at Valentine. Valentine, however, didn't seem to be at loss of any energy. After finding his lost gun, Outsider, at his feet, Valentine picked up the gun and put it back into its holster. He focused on the middle-aged outlaw.  
  
_He... he can't be human!  
  
_As his eyes turned bloodshot red, Leilong dashed right past Vincent and slashed for his ribs. Staring straight forward and not bothering to turn to see his opponent, Leilong felt he finally got Valentine. Vincent didn't move at all from Leilong's technique. As Leilong looked down to see if his knife was dripping with Vincent's blood, his eyes widened.  
  
Leilong's knife was not in his hand! Leilong whipped his head back to see his adversary. Vincent turned around to face Leilong and held Leilong's knife in his very hand.  
  
"Hmph. Pathetic. As a great warrior once said: Only a fool would rely solely on a weapon," Valentine said. As Vincent tossed the knife away, Vincent gave Leilong a very cold stare.  
  
"My turn..." Vincent dashed right for Leilong with incredible speed, not letting his feet touch the ground at all! Faster than the eye can blink, Vincent's left fist rammed right into Leilong's stomach. The strike was so strong, it almost went through Leilong's back. Leilong's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped when Vincent knocked the breath out of him. Vincent smashed Leilong's face with a right hook, smashing Leilong into a heap of dead cars 7 yards away from himself. As Leilong's back hit the heap of metal, Vincent felt the taste of bloodlust and went all out. Vincent gave Leilong a stunning combination of jabs, hooks and crosses to Leilong's ribs and face. Leilong tried his best to block Vincent's attacks, but it wasn't enough. Seeing Leilong's left eye swollen and blood streaming out of his nose, Vincent delivered a lethal spin-kick to Leilong's head. Leilong felt his kick and spiraled away from the dead cars, hitting the dirt face-first and rolling away.  
  
Slowly, Leilong staggered back onto his feet, feeling tremendous pain in every inch of his body. He tried to shake off the blurriness from his eyes, seeing only a big red blur walking towards him. Eventually, his vision was fully restored.  
  
"How? How did you get so damn good at this?" the beatened and shocked Leilong asked, breathing heavy.  
  
"I have very powerful friends that help me grow stronger. And I'm not as young as you think I am," Vincent responded, getting closer to his prey. As Leilong and Valentine were only 4 feet away from each other, Leilong unleashed a quick left finger-strike for Vincent's throat. Vincent sidestepped the attack and parried it with his left hand. He grabbed Leilong's arm and with his right hand, he hammer-blowed Leilong's left arm and heard the bones snap. Leilong let out a piercing scream as he felt his broken bones tear the flesh from within. Leilong collapsed to the ground and clung onto his useless arm.  
  
Showing no sign of pity, Vincent grabbed Leilong by the shirt, lifted him off his feet and slammed his back into another huge heap of scrap metal. Vincent drew out his Outsider and shoved the muzzle right underneath Leilong's jaw. Cocking his head back from the gun, Leilong stared into Vincent's cold eyes with one good eye and tried not to show any fear at all.  
  
"Give me your worst, you son of a bitch. I'm not afraid to die," Leilong hissed. Vincent rested his finger on the trigger, one step away from annihilating yet another outlaw who challenged his powers. Leilong's breathing trembled as could feel the cold steel against the bottom of his jaw. He knew that Death was staring right into his eyes and breathing down his neck.  
  
Vincent lowered his weapon.  
  
"You're not gonna die. Not today, at least. You tell that cowardly broker of yours that I know who he works for. You tell him that no matter who he sends after me: Kei Pirates, outlaws, whoever: he will never stop me from getting to his boss! And when I find him, he and his superior are gonna be feast for the maggots..."  
  
Vincent tossed Leilong away like a rotten sack of potatoes. Vincent holstered his weapon and walked away, letting the dusty wind whistle by. He knew that Leilong was in terrible shape, but he also knew that he was strong enough to get back onto his feet. After holstering his other weapons he lost and walking many yards away from his defeated opponent, Vincent stopped at his tracks.  
  
"Oh, another thing. Since you are acquainted with Gene Starwind, I want you to deliver a message to _him_ as well. If I ever see that red-head punk again, I won't hesitate to blow his head clean off his shoulders!"  
  
Vincent Valentine walked on, walking towards where the sun was suppose to set. Almost beatened to a bloody pulp, Leilong slowly got up, clung onto his broken arm and staggered to his iron backpack.  
  
_.... Must.... warn... Starwind....  
  
  
  
_

**THE END?  
**


End file.
